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How to Elevate Your Sweatpants Look

Sweatpants. I have such a love hate relationship with them. My issue is that I love them so much, I get too comfy/warm/lazy wearing them and so I never take them off when I have to run errands. Even worse, I decide that I’m just so comfy/warm/lazy that I never leave my house. Amazon.com ends up being a much better option than Target when I really only need a couple of things that honestly doesn’t require Amazon.

I’ve always been of the mantra comfort over everything, so instead of fighting my urge to wear sweats out in public, I’m just accepting it and working with what I’ve got. In this case, what I’ve got is an aversion to putting on legitimate pants. It’s kind of like the phrase, “if you can’t beat them, join them.” My solution isn’t throwing out my sweatpants. I know myself, and I know I’ll just reach for the next most comfy thing (pajamas) and not help anything.

If I’m going to be in sweats all day, they may as well be cute. Today I’m talking about elevated sweatpants that are so cute you’re actually going to want to leave the house in them and not feel any sense of guilt after you do. (Hey, you may even get some compliments on your outfit, too!)

I used to be opposed to spending a decent amount of money on sweatpants because of what they are. Thanks to the athleisure trend and my recent opposition to wearing jeans, this became necessary for me. Regardless of what I wear out the door, I want to feel good and confident in it, and my baggy mismatched duds weren’t cutting it.

Enter this matching lounge set by Splendid. I mean, talk about elevated! It’s all in the details here, folks. Both are super soft but the kicker that takes these up a notch is the embroidered stripe details on each piece. The sweatpants have traditional stripes up the side but they also have the most adorable tie detail at the bottom. The sweatshirt has a double stripe around the waist that continues on the arms. (I’m wearing a small in both items.)

I have a newfound appreciation for matching loungewear pieces. They are matching for a reason – to make it really easy for us as the consumer to put the outfit together without thinking about it. A matching set instantly takes the look from “sweatpants” to an actual outfit. I linked a couple of really cute sets below including this one. If you don’t want to commit to a head to toe set, invest in a plain t-shirt in a complementary color. In the spirit of trying to keep this look elevated, please do not spring for your old Hanes t-shirt that came in a 3-pack. Go out and buy an actual t-shirt. Madewell has some great v-neck t-shirts that aren’t too loose or fitted, and they’re reasonable priced.

While a matching set says, “Hey, I’m literally put together!” I do have a couple of other tricks to really amp up your sweatpants style.

First up, the denim jacket. Gosh, this is such a staple and goes with everything, including your sweats. This denim jacket is also from Madewell. It’s the perfect medium blue wash that’s just fancy but also just causal enough. Even when it comes to super causal dressing, a third piece elevates a look, as seen here.

Footwear is also very important. While I like wearing running/athletic shoes with tight leggings, you can’t really get away with them with looser pant styles. It’s something about the bulk of the shoe with a baggy pant silhouette that kind of defeats the whole “elevated sweats” thing. I recommend a classic white shoe like this pair by Tretorn. They are so affordable (only $70!) and I love how they look on the foot. Not bulky at all!

Look, we all have our days where we are just too busy to put on real clothes and schlep around in mismatched baggy pieces because we just want to be comfortable and don’t really care what we look like. In fact, I’m typing this right now cross-legged at my desk in a sweatshirt and cozy joggers. And that’s okay! But I’m also learning some things as a newly minted full-time blogger. I’ve found that even if it’s a slower day, I still feel like I’ve accomplished things when I’ve made even the tiniest effort to get ready, and it doesn’t have to be with full-blown hair, makeup, or heels.

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nice to meet you

Hi friends! I’m Camille. My signature style features a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a leather jacket. My hair is usually messy with a bit of a wave, but I love it best like that. I live in Los Angeles.

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